Bolt shows how modern treasury solutions directly impact people’s lives

Harnessing the Power of Technology

Highly Commended Winner

Bolt Technology OÜ

Photo of Freek van den Engel, Bolt Technology OÜ and Selva Ganesan, Citi.

Freek van den Engel

Head of Treasury

Estonia

Bolt is a shared mobility platform that has operations in over 50 countries and 850 cities and provides shared mobility services, including ride-hailing, scooter and e-bike rental and car rental to over 200 million customers. More than 4.5 million drivers use the Bolt platform around the world. The company seeks to accelerate the transition from owned cars to shared mobility, offering better alternatives for every use case.

in partnership with

The challenge

Bolt required a scalable treasury and payments infrastructure capable of managing high volume driver payouts, high velocity customer collections and real-time payment confirmation to maintain service availability and user satisfaction.

Legacy processes created friction:

Cash-based rides require drivers to pay commission to Bolt. Reconciling thousands of micropayments was operationally burdensome and error-prone.
Earnings payouts to drivers required speed, reliability and multi-bank interoperability, with real-time confirmation essential for driver trust and retention.
Bolt sought a unified global payments and FX framework to allow for a multicurrency digital payment acceptance and settlement model.

The solution

Citi collaborated with Bolt to deliver an integrated global collections, payouts and FX framework, combining innovations launched in Thailand and a new flagship project in the UK.

Citi implemented a virtual account (Payer ID) solution allowing each driver to receive a unique identifier, enabling frictionless commission payments via PromptPay real-time transfers, with automatic instant credit notification via API back to the Bolt driver app in Thailand.

This eliminated manual reconciliation, reduced operational overhead and enabled instant driver eligibility for new jobs.

The UK serves as the global pilot for a combined Digital Payment Acceptance and FX solution using Citi’s Spring by Citi and InstantFX platforms. This will allow Bolt to offer multicurrency pricing, consume fixed FX rates via API and streamline cross-border card processing – all through a single integration with Citi.

The solution simplifies settlement, reduces the number of accounts required and enhances financial control through integrated FX netting.

Best practice and innovation

The judges commended Bolt for a technology-driven overhaul of the collections process in two markets.

The Bolt-Citi relationship showcases innovation across cash management, payments and technology at global scale:

Single API-based global treasury architecture.
Virtual accounts (Payer ID) and instant notifications.
Spring by Citi and InstantFX integration.
Hyper-scalable payments engine.
Driver-centric financial experience.

The combined solution exemplifies global best practice, leveraging automation, real-time data and integrated FX to modernise treasury operations in both emerging and developed markets.

Key benefits

Cost savings.
Process efficiencies.
Future-proof solution.
Increased automation.
Increased system connectivity.
Manual intervention reduced.
Reduction in errors.

Bolt sought a scalable global framework that would eliminate manual processes; enhance reconciliation and visibility; improve driver experience; support global payment acceptance expansion and reduce operating complexity. Across both Thailand and the UK, the implemented solutions exceeded these objectives.

The Bolt-Citi collaboration is a clear example of how modern treasury infrastructure can improve everyday payment experiences – from individual drivers to customers relying on mobility services in emerging and developed markets.

In Thailand, real-time digital solutions significantly simplified the process. Before the project, the previous process relied on more manual payment and reconciliation steps. With Citi’s Payer ID and real-time APIs, drivers now see instant acknowledgements and instant confirmation of payments.

In the UK, the Spring and InstantFX solution creates a new frontier for Bolt’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) treasury. By enabling multicurrency pricing and simplifying cross-border acceptance, Bolt can offer a better customer experience.

Marton Steier

Global Solution Sales, Services, Citi

Selva Ganesan

Head of eCommerce Sales, UK, Europe, and MEA, Services, Citi

David Weidlich

Corporate Salesperson, FX Sales, Citi

We are delighted to support Bolt in advancing its global treasury transformation, delivering scalable payment and liquidity solutions across a complex, multi-market environment. Through close collaboration, Citi has helped streamline cross-border and local payment flows, enhance visibility and strengthen operational efficiency. Bolt is also exploring further enhancements, including leveraging Citi Spring for next-generation card acquiring and expanding its FX capabilities to optimise multicurrency offering to the cross-border audience. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to innovation, resilience and building a future-ready treasury model to support Bolt’s continued international growth.

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The Adam Smith Awards are the industry benchmark for best practice and innovation in corporate treasury. The 2026 awards attracted 635 nominations. To find out more please visit treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards

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